West Rim Trail to Cabin Springs, Zion National Park

Thursday 7th November

Waking up at a more normal time in a nice comfortable bed felt so good. Lying there all cozy and warm with a cup of coffee to get the day started felt even better! After a quick visit to the motel's "free" breakfast buffet (it was a very cheap motel and this was reflected in the standard of the breakfast!) we once again packed up the car and set off on another adventure.

Today we made the short drive up to Zion National Park and what a lovely drive it was. It was so good to see the sun sparkling on the Virgin river and the lovely greenness of leafy trees after our short time in the arid desert. The rock formations as we neared Zion were incredible, mesas and buttes, some of which almost looked man-made they were so perfectly square.

At the entrance we nonchalantly waved our annual pass for free entrance and picked up a map and guide. This enabled us to decide on our trek for the day and we headed up the Zion Scenic drive, past the lodge to the Grotto Trail head. We had decided to hike up to Angel's Landing which was described as a "strenuous" hike (only 6 recorded deaths from falling off it to date!). At first the path ran parallel to the Virgin river but it soon started to climb and the climb soon became steep enough that it had to start zig zagging, affording great views both back into the incredibly pretty valley and ahead to the impressive peaks. The trail ascended gradually between Zion Canyon and Angel's Landing and then onto Walter's Wiggles, a series of 21 steep switchbacks leading to the Scout Lookout. At this point we had a choice. We could continue up the last half mile along the 2 foot ridge to the summit of Angel's Landing at 5790 feet or we could continue on the West Rim Trail. We decided to continue onward and do the out and back to the summit on our return when we hoped there would be less people with the same idea.

From this point on encounters with other people became rarer and once we had climbed to a point which was above the top of Angel's Landing and could see the number of ant like figures swarming up it we knew we had made the right choice!  We continued climbing to about a 1000 feet above Angel's Landing and then the trail started losing height and turned to enter a narrow, steep sided canyon which meant we were out of the sunshine for the next mile or so and it became quite chilly. Once the path crossed to the north side of the canyon and began climbing steeply again we found ourselves back in full sun and rapidly overheating as we toiled upwards! By now we had covered 5 miles and climbed about 2500 feet from the valley floor and my main concern was finding the perfect picnic spot and taking a break. However, having climbed this far we had to get to the top before we stopped!

We had reached Cabin Springs where there are several back country camping sites and the path splits into the West Rim Trail and Telephone Canyon Trail. This provided the option of a further 5 mile loop before returning the way we had come. If we had started out earlier we would have done this but we were mindful that we only had 3 and a half hours before dark and it had already taken us over 2 hours to get this far.

We found a few (slightly uncomfortable) rocks just off the side of the trail above Behunin Canyon and enjoyed our cheese sandwiches gazing out across the massive sandstone peaks, stretching as far as we could see, in total solitude with only the occasional bird call or rustle of wind in the trees to break the silence. It really was perfect.

Although I much prefer a loop hike to an out and back on this occasion going back was just as good as the outward trek because the views were different and the paths were so varied. The only thing that we could find to complain about was that most of the trail was a little too manicured for our taste, less paving and steps would have been an improvement.  Martin even complained that a bridge across a steep sided ravine ruined it but I'm pretty sure that getting across without a man made aid would have been beyond my limited climbing skills!

When we got back to Scout Lookout there were still a lot of people on Angel's Landing so we decided to continue past it back down to the valley floor and return very early on Saturday morning to complete the out and back narrow scramble to the summit before the crowds arrived.

On our way out of the park we stopped off at the Visitor Centre to see if there was any chance of getting a permit for one of the wilderness hikes.  We talked to a very helpful park ranger who suggested that we do the Left Fork of North Creek as far as the bottom of the famous Subway. This would involve some wading (but only ankle to mid calf deep) and a lot of climbing up, round and over rocks, trees and the river bank. A permit cost $10 and was soon in our possession and we were very excited - this was what we came to Zion to do, not tame hikes on groomed trails, no matter how beautiful the surrounding countryside.

We headed back down the valley which looked absolutely beautiful bathed in late afternoon sunshine with deer grazing in the lush meadows and the autumn colours in full glory. Just after the park exit we drove through the town of Springdale which is very pretty and appears to consist almost entirely of expensive cafes, restaurants, hotels and shops, custom designed to relieve eager tourists of their hard earned cash. They were out of luck with us, we admired it all from the safety of our car and drove back down to Hurricane where the poor (and/or sensible) people stay in the Super 8 at discounted rate, do their grocery shopping at the local supermarket (named especially for me!) and eat microwaved Indian food in their perfectly adequate cheap motel room whilst researching their next adventure on the internet.

Or we could go back to work, have a fortnight off per annum and stay in a 5 star hotel with a fancy over priced restaurant..................................